No remedy yet for Pike rate pains

MATAMORAS — Electric rate hikes of up to 129% prompted Pike County Light & Power customers to speak out at Thursday Public Utility Commission hearings. The hearing was not to address existing rates, however, but to hear from electric subscribers about an upcoming auction that could lead to even higher rates through 2010. The concern expressed by residents was the need for more bidders in that upcoming auction and the hope of lower power rates to end the struggle and pain the high rates have caused. About 50 people attended the two sessions at the Hunts Landing Best Western. Rates went up at the end of 2005 when a rate cap expired and only two electric providers bid for the rights to supply some 4,500 residential and business customers in the Milford area with electric power. The small area hasn’t attracted many bidders and the current rates expire on Dec. 31. Bill Hessling, the business administrator of the Delaware Valley School District gave comparisons. He said PCL&P rates jumped to $627,632 in 2006, an increase of almost a quarter of a million dollars. “The taxpayers have to foot the bill for this increase,” he said. Pike County Commissioner Harry Forbes added more comparisons. Forbes said there was an increase of 162% from 2005 to 2006 for the cost of electricity for county buildings in the Milford area. Others with electric heated homes testified their residential electric bills were more than their mortgages payments. They said their homes lost resale value because with high electric rates no one would want to buy their residences. Joe Fretta of Fretta’s Italian Specialties on Broad Street in Milford testified he now owes over $16,000 on his electric bill, has sold his home and moved into an apartment above his store. Jan Hurwitz said she was forced to downsize her computer/internet business. “I now occupy only one-sixth of the building and only have two employees. I formerly occupied two-thirds of the building and had twenty-three employees. “I’ve been at these hearings before in an effort to get electric rate problems resolved. We are tired of hoping that with each new round of complaints this matter will be resolved once and for all,” Hurwitz testified. “We do not want another sham of an auction like the last one that took place, which resulted in a 129% raise in our electric rates.” Con Edison Solutions, another subsidiary of the PCL&P parent company Consolidated Edison Inc., plans to increase the area serviced by adding Orange County, N.Y., in an effort to increase the number of bidders and reduce rates, said Ed Lanza, an attorney for PCL&P.